INS TARANGINI : RELIVING THE SAGA OF ANCIENT
MARINERS
Sudha
S Namboothiry *
A lone ship facing
the thundering cloud, swirling winds and angry sea with men climbing
up a gyrating mast to furl a sail in the storm or labouring at
the helm in rough sea- all these are indeed thrilling to read,
imagine and watch in a movie. If it is a sail ship then all the
more exciting. Facing the storm is the greatest challenge of a
seaman and needs great guts and spirit of adventure to sail during
storms. With the aim to develop the spirit of adventure and inculcate
qualities of leadership, team work, alertness, patience, faith
and the ability to face challenges with confidence, resoluteness
and positive attitude, the Indian Navy organizes cruises for its
personnel. The Indian naval ships - Tir, Krishna and Tarangini
- are all meant for training. But INS Tarangini is the only Sail
Training Ship in the Indian Navy.
Navies are increasingly
using sail training ships the world over as basic seamanship and
character-building platform. Throughout the world 30 navies own
sail ships and in Asia INS Tarangini is the third one. She is
designed by Mr Colin Mudie, naval and yatch designer from UK,
and built by the Goa Shipyard Limited. On her commissioning on
11 November 1997, the INS Tarangini primarily meant for the sail
training of cadets of First Training squadron, also conducts sail
training capsules for cadets of the National Defence Academy,
Naval Academy and INS Shivaji . But in July 2002 with Commander
Sheikh Shaukat Ali as her captain she set sail for her first adventure-cum-goodwill
cruise from Kochi. During the expedition , the ship, with 33 cadets
of the Training Squadron, 34 sailors and 7 officers including
one from the Air Force embarked, called at Mauritius, Sychelles
and Maldives. The first leg covering about 2380 nautical miles
of sailing provided the voyagers with an experience similar to
that of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. During the second and third
legs INS Tarangini covered about 950 nautical miles to Seychelles
and 1525 nautical miles to Maldives respectively and returned
to Kochi.
The ship’s successful
maiden voyage thrilled and made the officials confident about
her sailing capabilities and equipped them with experience and
knowledge. The ship and her crew are now on a 14-15 month-long
Round -the-Globe sailing expedition. It was flagged off on 23
January 2003 by Admiral Madhavendra Singh, Chief of the Naval
Staff. The theme of the circumnavigation voyage is "Tacking
to Blue Waters and Building besides a friendship Across the Oceans".
During the course, INS Tarangini is to visit 36 ports in 17 countries
including Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain, Bermuda, USA, Canada, Pureto
Rico, Panama, Ecuador, French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, Australia,
Indonesia ,Singapore and Sri Lanka. It will also take part in
the races for tall ships conducted by the American Sail Training
Association in the Great Lakes. The circumnavigation is planned
in six legs. Each leg is of approximately 2 1/2months’ duration.
During each leg INS Tarangini will be manned by 30 cadets of the
First Training Squadron in addition to the permanent crew. The
cadets and crew are changed at the end of each leg. A total of
about 300 officers and 60 sailors are participating in the maiden
circumnavigation voyage undertaken by this only Indian ship of
its kind. INS Tarangini will be commanded by three officers during
its global voyage.
Commander S Shaukat
Ali who will command the ship during the larger part of the voyage,
said that the aim is not merely to expose young officers and sailors
to the use of sails, various types of ropes and shipping operations
of the bygone era. It is also to provide a first-hand experience
of the vagaries at sea, help the cadets develop the strength of
character and a good "sea sense". While sailing through
the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea , the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic
Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and various lakes and
rivers , the personnel can acquire first-hand experience of the
weather and water. The ship will go on for 20 to 25 days’ non-stop
sailing in course of its voyage.
With this circumnavigation
by INS Tarangini, the country’s sea-faring capabilities can be
projected to the world, said Lieutenant Dhiren Paniker who was
on board for the first leg. As an effort towards building bridges
of friendship across the oceans, character-building, sail and
seamanship training capsules are being imparted to the cadets
and midshipmen of the Indian Navy and friendly foreign countries,
he said.
Not just the officers
and cadets, the ship’s chef was also thrilled about this voyage.
Petty Officer Lalit Chauhan who handled catering onboard during
the earlier voyage of INS Tarangini is putting his culinary expertise
to good use by feeding the crew in the trip. According to him
a chef’s role in a voyage is far more important. His section tirelessly
works to feed and keep the crew in fine fettle under all circumstances
of the voyage.
INS Tarangini is
built for worldwide operations . She carries eighteen sails with
a sail area of almost 1000sq.m.The ship has very high endurance.
She has a complement of six officers and twenty -seven men as
permanent crew. It can accommodate and impart sail training to
30 cadets.
INS Tarangini is
now reaching Port Suez in Egypt. Earlier it called at Djibouti,
a French colony on the Red Sea. It lay in anchor there from February
10 to 14, 2003. The officers and sailors on board interacted with
the local officials and the ship got standing ovation from the
people there. The President of Djibouti also gave them audience.
*
Asstt. Information Officer, PIB, Kochi with inputs from Commander
Vinay Garg, PRO Navy, Ministry of Defence
